


Don't Know A Good Thing Until It's (Almost) Gone

by Im_still_waiting_for_the_rain_to_fall



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Hurt Kara, Post Reveal, angry lena
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-06-06
Packaged: 2020-04-11 17:28:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19114372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Im_still_waiting_for_the_rain_to_fall/pseuds/Im_still_waiting_for_the_rain_to_fall
Summary: Post 4x22One week after struggling through games night, having successfully avoided Kara through means of L-Corp business and lab emergencies, Lena finds herself preparing for another night of faking cheer when she discovers that The Girl of Steel has been severely injured fighting her brother during the crisis on infinite Earths.Putting aside her own pain in order to save Kara's life, Lena finds her world upended yet again when, during a heart to heart in the hospital, Kara confesses yet more secrets.Storming out, three weeks pass before a chance encounter at the park has Lena discovering that Kara still hasn't got her powers back.Unable to resist the urge to find out why, Lena and Kara are in the middle of a conversation where the pair find themselves kidnapped at gunpoint by a man seeking revenge for a wrong committed by Lex.When Kara throws herself in front of a bullet meant for Lena, while fully mortal, will it be too late for Lena to admit her feelings for the blue eyed Super?





	Don't Know A Good Thing Until It's (Almost) Gone

It takes everything she has; every single drop of hard earned Luthorian unbreakable spirit, but she manages it. 

****

Lena shows up to the next games night like nothing is amiss. 

****

Only a week has passed since her brother made the revelation that has knocked her entire world askew, and she has managed to dodge Kara the entire seven days. A meeting here, a problem with the lab there; life as a busy CEO came in handy when trying to come up with reasons to avoid lunch plans with your former best friend. 

****

However games night is an after work event she can't find a ready reason to duck out of, which is why she finds herself outside of Kelly's apartment despite the knot in her gut telling her that this is a bad idea. 

****

Just as she is about to turn around and leave, already preparing to send a text saying she has been caught up with some last minute issue at work, Brainy and Nia come barrelling out of the lift. 

****

“Lena! Good to see you”. 

“Ready to do battle?”

****

Schooling her features to hide her displeasure at having her plans scuppered, Lena flashes the pair a polite smile and greets them as warmly as she can, then finds herself corralled into the apartment like an errant sheep. 

****

The click of the door closing behind her makes Lena flinch, already feeling slightly claustrophobic at the thought of being trapped in the modest apartment with Kara and her unresolved feelings for the woman who has lied to her for the past four years, and her eyes dart around the space searching for the familiar face. 

****

Able to let out a small sigh of relief when she realises that the ball of energy that is Kara Danvers doesn't seem to have arrived yet, Lena relaxes slightly. She notes that Alex  _ is _ here, huddled in the corner with Kelly, but that she looks less than happy for someone who had recently acquired herself a girlfriend. In fact, as Lena focuses more fully on the pair, the normally stoic Director looks rather upset. 

****

Surprised, and feeling empathy despite her anger, Lena is about to go over to the pair to offer her friend support when she sees Kelly slip an arm around Alex's shoulder and leads the emotional redhead into the privacy of the bedroom. 

****

Stumped by the sight, Lena doesn't know quite what to make of it, and feels like mentioning it to anyone else will be disloyal to Alex who clearly doesn't want anyone to see, which is why Kelly had taken her away from the main room. 

****

Instead she makes half hearted shop talk with James about Catco until the pair re-emerge, Alex dry eyed if still slightly red rimmed, and the group eventually gather around the table. 

****

When they begin discussing what game to play first, in a much more sombre mood than normal and with none of the usual frivolity that has been present in every single games night she has ever attended, Lena can bite her tongue no longer and finally addresses the elephant in the room. “Is Kara not coming tonight?” 

****

The sharp inhale of breath Alex takes is not lost on Lena. 

****

Neither is the tear that escapes to burn a path down her cheek. 

****

Kelly immediately reaches over to rub her back in a way that looks like she's done it a thousand times already, but before her hand can connect Alex has shot up from her seat and excused herself from the group with a mumbled excuse about needing the bathroom.

****

Eyeing the fleeing woman sympathetically for a moment, Kelly then turns to Lena with a calm expression. “Sorry, that wasn't aimed at you. Alex is just....struggling a little bit, at the moment”. 

****

“I won't ask if everything is okay, because it clearly isn't-” Lena's eyes stray to the closed bathroom door where the older Danvers sister had fled to “-and I won't pry as to what the cause it, but as her friend I will ask if there is anything I can do to help?”

****

Smiling at the offer, Kelly shakes her head. “That's very kind of you Lena, but she's just finding it hard with Kara being on this dangerous assignment”. 

****

With everyone else in the room finding their own hands enthralling all of a sudden, Lena's spider senses begin blaring warning sounds. “ **What** assignment?”

****

Seeing that the terseness of her tone takes Kelly by surprise a little, Lena is unrepentant as she stares intently at the woman awaiting her reply. 

****

“Oh...erm...just some undercover investigative assignment that she's doing. It's meant to be somewhere really dangerous, and no one has heard from Kara in three days - which I keep telling Alex is normal for investigative reporters, but it's why she has been so upset recently. I thought games night might take her mind off of it but......”

****

Lena is out of her seat and striding towards the bathroom before Kelly has finished speaking, the Super-friends gawking after her as she barges in through the door without even stopping to knock, then closes and locks it after her. 

****

Turning to find Alex huddled in a tear-filled mess inside the tub, Lena's demeanour softens at the clear distress she is in. Sinking down onto her knees next to the bath, Lena takes a deep breath before locking eyes with the devastated brown ones staring curiously at her. 

****

“I know Kara isn't on assignment, and I'm aware your tears aren't simply because you fear she may get hurt”. Speaking softly, Lena unfurls her heart for the first time since Lex managed to cleave it clear in two. “I know this because before I...., before my brother died, he revealed the truth about her to me. The truth that Kara is Supergirl”. 

****

Fear and panic both immediately shine in Alex's eyes. “Lena, I....”

****

Holding her hand up to forestall any denial, Lena shakes her head. “What's happened to Kara?” 

****

Face instantly crumpling again, Alex sags back against the tub as fresh tears well in her eyes.

****

“There was an incident, a crisis, that affected multiple Earth's”. Looking up at the ceiling in an attempt to stop them from falling, she talks through gritted teeth. “Kara has helped before, so immediately went to stand alongside her friends. However, Lex showed up and injured her. Badly”. 

****

“But Lex is dead!” Shock and horror paint themselves on Lena's face. 

****

“Not as dead as we'd all hoped”. The bitterness in Alex's voice cuts through Lena's daze and she focuses back on the tearful woman. “He managed to catch us all by surprise because we thought he'd died on Shelly Island. We'd pretty much defeated Leviathan and saved the day when your slaphead of a brother shows up and blasts Kara with a huge dose of Kryptonite, almost killing her instantly. We barely got her home and into the tank before her heart stopped.....”

****

Throat closing up as more tears leak out of the corners of her eyes to run down disappear into the hair at her temples, Alex screws her eyes shut as the image of Kara plummeting from the sky flashes through her mind. 

****

Reeling at the news that not only is Lex alive (after she had left him very much dead) but that he had been able to almost kill Kara after smugly destroying their friendship, Lena feels nauseous at the thought that while she has been stewing over some perceived slight her best friend has been fighting for her life. 

****

“Get up”. 

****

Eyes snapping open at the sharp tone, Alex frowns up at Lena. “What?”

****

“I said, get up”. Rising to her feet, the high heels Lena had chosen to wear in order to look down on Kara and feel superior to her, make her an even more imposing to the seated woman. “You're taking me to see Kara, right now, and I'm going to fix her”. 

****

“We've had every doctor - including my mum, possible, already look at her”. 

****

Huffing indelicately as she crosses her arms, Lena raises an eyebrow condescendingly. “Exactly how many of them worked out how to rid the world of Daxamites AND a Worldkiller?” 

****

Shooting up in the bath, Alex stands and appraises Lena. “Point taken. Lets go”. 

****

 ****

****

Blinking groggily, she groans when a jolt of pain rips through her head. 

****

“Hey, you okay?”

****

The sound of the worried voice, far too loud for the pounding in her head but still welcome despite all that, comes from close by. 

****

“Did we go to the bar last night? It feels like I did ten rounds of Aldebaran rum and then flew into the side of every building on the way home”. Attempting to lift her hand in order to clutch at her thumping head, the disoriented blonde frowns in confusion when something prevents it from moving. “Oh god, I didn't actually attempt to fly home, did I?”

****

“Hey, Kara, open your eyes for me”. 

****

Alex's gentle voice forces the Super to open her eyes properly, the light from the sunlamps harsh even as they register the warmth surrounding her body, and she blinks a couple of times as she takes in the fact that she is in the section of the DEO reserved for Supergirl related medical issues.

****

Glancing down at herself, she discovers the reason she is unable to move her arm is due to the heavy white cast covering it from shoulder to wrist, indicating underlying damage the sunlamps have yet to fix, and the sight has Kara's shocked blue eyes shooting up to find her sisters steady brown ones immediately. 

****

“Easy there Kar, just lay still”. Placing a restraining hand on the blonde's undamaged shoulder as she speaks softly, Alex tries to prevent the young woman from doing further damage to herself by attempting to sit up.  

****

Letting out a loud gasp as a bolt of pain lances through her ribs, Kara flops back onto the pillow and wheezes through her teeth. “Holy mackerel, that stings!” 

****

Chuckling dryly at her sisters ability to not swear even when clearly in a huge amount of pain, Alex brushes a stray lock of hair off of the injured woman's forehead. “Trust me, it's an improvement on where you were two days ago”. 

****

Her words produce a quizzical look from Kara, whose brows knit together to form an arch over questioning eyes, and she sinks down into the chair next to the bed with a sigh. 

****

“What's the last thing you remember?”

****

The question forces Kara to frown even harder, and a slightly spacey look takes over her expression as she concentrates on picturing the events that transpired before waking up here. 

****

“I...I was fighting”. Stuttering slightly as her memories are fragmented and jumbled, Kara shakes her head from side to side, as if by doing so it will somehow reorder them into something more cohesive. “Barry....and Kate, were there too. We were winning.....but then...oh god-” letting out a shocked gasp, Kara uses her undamaged arm in order to cover her mouth with her her hand “-Lex!”

****

When tear filled eyes meet hers, Alex feels her throat close up in sympathy. 

****

Nodding once in confirmation, she then reaches out and strokes Kara's hair softly. “The monitor brought him back. We had no idea until that moment either, and it was almost a moment too late”. 

****

Waves of guilt wash through Alex again, despite knowing she has put enough bullets through Lex to turn his skull into a sieve, and she feels tears prick at the back of her own eyes. 

****

“It's okay, Alex. You saved me”. 

****

Lifting her gaze to find Kara's warm, loving eyes on her, the older Danvers shakes her head gently. “I managed to stop you from dying.  _ Lena _ is the one that saved you”. 

****

“Lena?” Frowning once again, Kara's head hurts as she tries to think clearly. “But I haven't seen her since...”

****

“Since the games night after we freed everyone on Shelly Island and you took down Lex; or thought you did”. Sighing deeply, Alex fills her sister in on the missing pieces of information she'd discovered since they'd tackled Leviathan - including what Lena had shared about how she'd found out about her secret identity, and watches as the new reduces the normally bubbly woman to a shocked and crumpled shell.

****

Seeing the tears roll down Kara's cheeks hurts Alex's heart, as she knows that this is her little sisters greatest fear come to life. 

****

She feels like she has failed, as the older siblings sworn oath is to protect their younger charge from pain at all costs, and she wishes there was something she could do to make things better between the pair. 

“I know this isn't the way you wanted her to find out, and from what I could see she was pretty hurt because of it, but Kar-” reaching out to take the Super's undamaged hand in her own gently, Alex squeezes it comfortingly as she speaks softly “-the  _ moment _ she found out you were hurt she marched straight up to me, told me she knew who you really were, and  **demanded** I take her to you so she could help you. If that doesn't scream she still cares for you....well, then I don't know what does”. 

****

“Is she....is she here?” 

****

The smallness of her voice is such a far cry from the strength of Supergirl's, and the joy of Kara's, that Alex longs to be able to wrap her arms around her sister and hug her until some hope returns. Instead all she can do is place a kiss on an untouched portion of her forehead and offer a supportive smile. “She hasn't left in three days, not since she started work on pulling you out of your coma”. 

****

“I was in  _ another _ coma?”

****

“Just a regular one this time”. Alex rolls her eyes at the statement, knowing how daft it sounds. “Your powers are blown, making you essentially human, but despite being incredibly weak all the doctors we consulted agreed that you should have woken up long before you did. Only Lena realised what was wrong in time to reverse the damage being done to your brain and wake you before any loss of higher functions became permanent”. 

****

“I owe her my life, for the umpteenth time-” turning baleful eyes to her sister, their watery cadence pleading with her wise sibling for answers beyond her comprehension, the Girl of Steel presents as a very sorrowful figure indeed to the Director “-yet all I can give her in reward are pitiful words of apology and excuses. It's not exactly a fair trade, is it”. 

****

“It wasn't the ideal way for her to find out, I agree, but now you can give her something far more valuable. You can give her the truth”. 

****

“I doubt she'd even listen”. Sniffling like a little kid, Kara looks incredibly downhearted at the prospect of trying to talk to Lena. 

****

Wishing she'd put even more bullets in the bald-headed braggart for being able to cause her sister this amount of pain, Alex gently wipes away the tears leaking down Kara's face.

****

“Lena deserves to know the truth, about everything, Kar. Including how you feel about her”. Seeing the fear immediately flash in her eyes, Alex allows a cheeky smile to slip onto her lips to try and defuse the panic she knows will be racing through Kara's system now that her little secret is out. “You really thought  **I** wouldn't notice you pining over a girl?”

****

“I wasn't.....p..pining”. Eyes wide as she stares at Alex in shock, Kara stutters along. “It was....um...admiration! Yes, I admire Lena, that's all!”

****

Raising an eyebrow knowingly, Alex smirks at the denial. “Yeah, I've seen you 'admire' her rear plenty of times”. 

****

The instant flush of red that springs to life on the Super's cheeks tells Alex everything, and she lets out a deep laugh as her sister practically swallows her tongue in an attempt to splutter out an excuse about merely being a good friend who notices the work Lena puts into her physical exercise routine. 

****

“You know she checks you out too, right?” 

****

That has Kara's mouth snapping shut, with a loud click of teeth, faster than a forkful of kale ever could. 

****

“No way!”

****

Nodding sagely even as she has a smug grin plastered on her face, Alex is glad her tidbit of information has stopped the flow of tears and helped perk Kara up again. “Every games night. Each time she thought you, and the rest of us, weren't looking, she gazed over at you like a lovesick schoolgirl”. 

****

“You're just saying that to try and make me feel better”. 

****

The look on Kara's face is deep suspicion, but it is laced with a desperate for her sisters words to be true. 

****

“Trust me Kar, I'd do anything to make you feel better right now, but giving you false hope is not the way to achieve that”. Smiling gently, Alex knows how long her sister has been pining for Lena.

****

At first she'd not said anything because she hadn't fully approved; being a Luthor meant the CEO attracted her own amount of trouble that Alex could do with keeping Kara well clear of but, during the mind-wipe when she'd spent more time around the young businesswoman and had gotten to know her properly, Alex had been forced to admit she could see why her sister was so smitten. The woman was smart, loyal, brave, fearless,  _ devoted _ to Kara, and willing to put aside personal feelings to help Supergirl no matter what the circumstance. 

****

She'd also proven, time and again, that she was the exception to the rule when it came to the Luthor's genealogy, so Alex now wholeheartedly approved of the pair getting together. The only thing stopping the pair getting together was their own damn stupidity at realising they were perfect for each other. 

****

“Nothing can change how she found out, but she's stuck around here long after getting confirmation you were out of the woods, which means at least a part of her still cares for you, and is hoping to see you”. Giving Kara the pep talk she knows the frightened woman needs, Alex squeezes her hand reassuringly. “That doesn't mean you have to see her immediately. Take your time and recover a little first if you need to. I mean you almost died, again. Which by the way, my heart does NOT appreciate”.  

****

A bubble of laughter breaks out of Kara at the scrunched up faux cross face Alex pulls at that, but it quickly morphs into a wince when it pulls on her damaged ribs. “Oh Rao, what would I do without you Alex?” 

****

“Eat the planet clean of potstickers and ice cream?” Gazing affectionately at the little blonde hurricane that had shaken up her life so dramatically, Alex knows she would be completely lost without her too. “Seriously though, what do you want me to do with the smouldering inferno currently camped out in my office? I can tell her you need to rest and to go home if that's what you want. It may take several armed agents and a sleeping powder to enforce, but I'm sure we'd manage it without picking up too many injuries on our end”.

****

“Huh?” 

****

At Kara's confused look, Alex gives her a wry grin. “Your Luthor is a determined woman. Not only did she save your life, but she practically took command of the entire DEO in doing so. I may have to stage a coup just to wrangle my office back from her if I try to evict her before she's seen you awake. She says she's only staying to ensure there are no last minute complications, but I know the real reason she's hanging around is because she's desperate to look into those baby blues of yours and reassure her aching heart that you're really okay”. 

****

“Alex, I......”

****

The hope that wells up in Kara's eyes, even as her throat closes up over her words, tells Alex everything, and she nods in understanding as she stands up. 

****

“I'll go fetch her-” placing one final kiss on her sister forehead, Alex strokes the blonde locks lovingly “- but for clarity, I am going to warn her that if she upsets you more than necessary I will throw her ass into the deepest, darkest, dankest black site the DEO has to offer”. 

****

 ****

****

The squeak of the door opening alerts Kara to the fact that she had dozed off, and she fights against the heaviness dragging at her lids to open her eyes. 

****

Blinking repeatedly to clear her sight of the fuzziness the pain medication seems to produce, she rolls her head to the side (having asked Alex to raise the bed up before she left so she wasn't laying flat for the forthcoming conversation) and lets out a little gasp when her gaze focuses on the figure standing in the open doorway. “Lena!” 

****

Only half through the door, the raven haired woman is standing still with an inscrutable look on her face as she gazes at Kara. Her eyes sweep down the bed, taking stock of every part of the prone woman she can see, much as a doctor would to a patient during their rounds. Once they have completed their survey her eyes return to Kara's face, only to find that the blonde is now frowning at her. 

****

“Is....is something wrong?” Having prepared herself for a cool reception, the clinical assessment of her person still manages to completely throw Kara, and she doesn't quite know how to proceed. 

****

Though she finally steps fully into the room and closes the door behind her with a quiet click, Lena doesn't try to approach the bed. “That's a rather loaded question. Wouldn't you agree?” 

****

Unable to stop herself from flinching at the edge present in Lena's voice, one which Kara has seen reduce successful businessmen to mumbling wrecks in mere seconds, the injured woman pulls her eyes away from the tired, but still lovely, vision loitering by the door. Dropping her gaze to focus on her hands as they fidget with the edge of the blanket tucked over her legs, Kara berates herself silently as she realises her vision is already cloudy with tears. 

****

Swallowing hard as she desperately tries to rein in her rolling emotions, the damaged Super tells herself that her pain doesn't matter right now, because Lena is justified in her anger. 

****

Nodding meekly in acknowledgement of the gruff question, Kara forces her words out past the lump of fear threatening to choke her. “Thank you for saving my life. Again. I know I didn't deserve it but....thank you”. 

****

In spite of the steely resolve Lena had been determined to maintain during this encounter, one she'd told Alex she was only agreeing to because “she wanted to ensure the patient was completely out of danger and there was no way the DEO could screw things up”, the raven haired woman finds her heart twinging at the broken quality to Kara's voice. 

****

Looking at the frail creature curled up in the bed, so small and damaged with the stark white cast covering one arm from shoulder to wrist, and covered in cuts and bruises that twist Lena's stomach in horror, it is almost impossible to equate this woman with the energetic and bubbly Kara that she knows and lov...likes. 

****

It's an even further stretch to try and see the indefatigable Girl of Steel, but Lena knows she's there. Somewhere. 

****

“Of course”. Maintain her poise and indifference, Lena nods curtly. “I may be a fool, but I'm not a monster”. 

****

Sighing heavily, then wincing when her damaged ribs protest the move, Kara grits her teeth against the pain that flares in her side. “He told me that he called you that. Took great pleasure in taunting me with it”. 

****

“Lex?” Caught off guard by the unexpectedness of her words, Lena takes a hesitant step towards Kara in shock. “What else did he say?” 

****

Raising sad blue eyes up to meet guarded green ones, Kara can see the secret Lena is worried about her knowing painted in them as easily as if she'd acquired J'onn's telepathy skills. 

****

“It shouldn't have come down on your shoulders to stop him”. Guilt at not realising he'd teleported away from his suit before it hit the ground once again crawls through her veins, and Kara offers a small, sad smile to acknowledge the monumental choice Lena had been forced to make. “Yet I've always known that you were way stronger than I am when it comes to making the hard choices”. 

****

“That's not true. You were able to make the decision to stop the Daxamites using the lead dispersal device, despite knowing it would mean condemning Mon El to exile from Earth”. 

****

Talking despite not quite knowing why she is disagreeing the woman she is angry with, Lena frowns when she sees the way her words cause Kara to blanch. 

****

“I....that”. Biting down on the inside of her cheek in an attempt to contain the tears that threaten to burst forth the moment Lena mentions the moment she had to make the single hardest choice in her life, Kara has to turn away and stare at the grey concrete walls for a few minutes to try and compose herself. “ _ Supergirl _ made that decision because the fate of the world depended on it, and as the world's champion she could make no other, but it broke Kara Danvers into a million pieces”. 

****

“You talk about yourself like you're two different people”. Secretly glad that Kara is facing away from her, because she is more affected by the utter wretchedness she can hear in her voice than she would like, Lena is glad that her voice betrays none of the emotion she is sure her face is giving away. 

****

“I'm three, actually”. 

****

The tiny voice is barely audible, and Lena is forced to take another step closer to the bed just to be able to hear the blonde properly. “Kara Danvers, Supergirl, and....?”

****

Stopping abruptly when Kara swings her head back to face her, Lena grits her teeth and tells herself that the skip of her heart is from the surprising act and not the red rimmed, watery blue eyes that she can't seem to look away from. 

****

“You once asked Supergirl what her real name is, and got pretty pissed when she wouldn't tell you”. The defeated tone in her voice sounds so foreign to Lena that it is almost like listening to a stranger talk, yet it is still in that same soft cadence that is uniquely Kara that the raven haired woman is enthralled despite herself. “I wanted,  _ more than anything _ in that moment, to tell you, but knew I couldn't because you wouldn't have guessed my identity there and then, as my Kryptonian name is Kara Zor-El”. 

****

“Zor-El”. Saying the name quietly, letting the words roll over her lips experimentally, Lena frowns slightly. “So Kara  **_really_ ** is your name then?” 

****

“Of course”. Breaking eye contact, Kara looks down at her lap. “I was already a teenager when my parents sent me here, so it's not like the Danver's could simply give me a new name like the Kent's did with Kal El”. 

****

“Wait a minute, you mean  _ Clark _ Kent is Superman?” 

****

At Lena's gasp, Kara whips her head back up with a look of shocked anguish on her face. “Oh Rao, that totally wasn't my secret to tell!” 

****

“Well, well, well. That  **will** make things interesting the next time the intrepid reporter comes sniffing around for a story”.

****

Seeing the gleam in Lena's eye, Kara knows she's royally messed up. 

****

Ignoring the pain it causes in her ribs, she wraps her arms around her knees and pulls them up to her chest as she sinks her chin down to rest on top of them.  _ Nice one dummy. Kept your own secret for four years but can't keep your cousins for three damn minutes _ . Blowing out a deep breath, she then lifts her head and levels her eyes back on the intimidating vision standing in the middle of the room. 

****

“Lena, I know I have no right to ask, but please try not to be too harsh with Clark”. Swallowing thickly when all she receives in reply is a haughty eyebrow raise, Kara forces herself to continue. “I know I deserve your scorn, but he doesn't. Clark is a good person”.  

****

“And you  _ aren't _ ?” Unsurprised by Kara's plea for leniency in favour of her cousin, Lena doesn't know what to make of the implied inference that the boy wonder is morally better than Kara. 

****

Nodding in agreement, Kara once again breaks eye contact as she hangs her head in shame. “I've been a terrible friend to you. I broke your trust in a pretty major way, and there are no words to ever make up for that”. 

****

“So you're not even going to bother to apologise?” 

****

Lena's defensive measures get ready to go up at the sound of Kara making excuses, but halt when the blonde shakes her head vigorously. 

****

“If I thought it would help I'd apologise every day for the rest of my life but you've told me time and again how important trust is to you, so I know better than to ever be granted it again”. Scratching around the edge of the cast by her wrist, where a persistent itch is irritating her, Kara wishes she wasn't so incapacitated so that she could pace off some of the nervous energy building inside her. “However, I wanted to show you that, despite how it appeared, I do trust you, Lena”.

****

Studying the injured woman warily, Lena is cautious in her reply. “You can't exactly reveal your identity to me again, so how do you intend to prove you trust me?” 

****

Lowering her knees, Kara grits her teeth and shuffles slowly to the edge of the bed. 

****

After plenty of pained grimacing, and with a row of sweat appearing on her forehead from the effort, the not so Super woman finally manages to stand on her own two feet. 

****

“Lena, the reason I didn't tell you about myself was, at first, because I didn't know you well enough. Then, it was because I was scared my secret would make you a target for people who wanted to hurt me”. Swaying slightly as a wave of dizziness passes through her, Kara grips on the bed with one hand to steady herself. “Though that quickly just became the excuse I hid behind because I couldn't face the  **true** reason I didn't want to tell you who I was”. 

****

Forcing herself to meet Lena's sceptical gaze, Kara fights past the self hate she feels rising in her gut at the absence of any warmth in the normally twinkling green orbs, and to say the words she has been denying for so long. 

****

“I was selfish in keeping my secret from you; telling myself that I was keeping you safe in doing so, and that I didn't want to hurt you by breaking your trust, when really it was myself I didn't want to hurt”. Feeling herself start to get choked up, Kara knows she needs to say it now or she might never manage to. “I knew that I'd lose you when you found out, and I just couldn't face the possibility of living my life without you, as I'd grown to need you in my life too much. I lived for the days I spent in your company, and simply existed on the days I didn't. Lena, the real reason I didn't tell you I'm Supergirl........is because I'm head over heels in love with you”. 

****

The sight of Lena spinning on her heels and marching out of the room, even through the haze of tears that immediately start spilling from her eyes, might just be the worst thing Kara has ever seen (a tall order from the girl that had been forced to watch her entire planet explode), and it causes the little strength she had managed to find in order to stand to seep from her body. 

****

Crumpling to the floor in a heap, her wails of anguish bounce off the sterile walls and echo forlornly around the room as the broken hearted girl weeps at the knowledge that her sister had been completely wrong about Lena's feelings for her. 

****

The look the dark haired woman had given Kara just before she'd turned and disappeared out the room had been  full of rage; the fury in her gaze burning through the Girl of Steel more effectively than her own heat vision ever could, and had seared Kara's heart into a million pieces. 

****

 ****

****

Thankful that yet another day is over, Lena leans back in her seat and stares out the window as her driver picks his way through downtown traffic. 

****

It has been three weeks since her showdown with Kara at the hospital, but to Lena it feels like a lifetime. She has gone through just about every emotion possible while trying to come to terms with the bombshell revelation that had caused her to storm out of the DEO (how naïve of her to think that there would be no more secrets up that spandex sleeve) and yet she still doesn't know what to think. A visit from a furious Alex, who had pretty much accused her of destroying Kara a thousand times harder than the events with Mon El had, hadn't helped any, and she'd been pretty sure that if her security hadn't shown up when they had the incensed redhead might actually have shot her with the sidearm her hand kept twitching over. 

****

A brief glimpse of the news a week ago had shown Kara returning to superheroing duties, when Supergirl had been filmed quelling a protest that had started, in part, due to her lack of presence in the city over the preceding fortnight. 

****

Knowing that Kara had her powers back had eased some of Lena's anxiety about the blonde's well-being, because despite everything she hated to imagine the vibrant woman still in physical pain liked she'd witnessed at the hospital, and had found herself gazing out of her office window more than she knew she should, wondering if she would catch a glimpse of the caped hero whizzing past. 

****

It therefore comes as a huge shock when, as her driver swings left and takes a shortcut past National City park in order to try and avoid the worst of the traffic, Lena spots a familiar figure - one that for all intents and purposes SHOULD be fully healed, sitting on a bench by the edge of the road, wearing a sling to support the cast still covering her broken arm and wrist. 

****

“STOP THE CAR!”

****

Telling her driver she will call him when needed, Lena exits the car and marches across the green towards the obvious woman, ignoring the multitudes of happy families out enjoying the sun on such a beautiful sunny day. 

****

Kara, whose face is turned up to the sun with her eyes closed, doesn't see the determined woman approach, so practically jumps out of her skin when Lena's curt question breaks through the peaceful serenity she has just spent the last forty five minutes trying to cultivate. 

****

“Why in the blue blazes are you still wearing that?”

****

Snapping her eyes open in alarm, it takes the startled woman a moment to focus on the fact that Lena is actually standing in front of her and isn't just a mirage conjured up from her imagination.

****

Once Kara manages to get her head around the fact that the woman she hasn't seen or heard from since the moment she walked out on her the moment after hearing Kara confess her love for her is in fact standing right in front of her, she is able to notice the way the raven haired woman is glaring at her. “Lena! What...um...what are you doing here?”

****

“Is pretending you're still injured your new way of to get me to forgive you? That's it, right? You're trying to convince me you're still mortal in order to work on my sympathies, seeing how trying to fob me off with a lame excuse like being in love with me as a way of getting out of telling me who you were didn't work? That's a new low, Kara, even for you”. 

****

As she growls out the accusation Lena realises there is no truth behind any of it, because her eyes take in the still healing cuts visible around the edges of a poorly applied makeup job. They peek out from behind the concealer, applied by a hand not used to doing such intricate work, and that is when it clicks that Kara's dominant hand is the one immobilised by the cast. 

****

“I... er....I'm not.....um....I'm not trying to get you to forgive me”. All the progress she has fought so hard to make over the last three, agonisingly painful weeks, is ripped from Kara with one cruel sentence, and she struggles not to dissolve into tears right there and then. 

****

Later, she tells herself. Later, when she has gotten home and crawled back into the bed she had just managed to pull herself from to come out and enjoy some much needed sun, will she allow herself to fall apart over this. 

****

But right now she needs to hold herself together. Somehow. 

****

“I honestly didn't know you would be here, Lena, or I would have made sure not to invade your space by choosing somewhere else to go”. 

****

Having seen Kara's eyes go wide at the barb, and the genuine hurt that had flashed across them before she'd lowered her gaze to her lap, Lena feels a momentary stab of guilt lance through her at the deferential words. They are in a public park, not her office, yet Kara is acting like she has no right to be here simply because Lena is. 

****

“Where are your powers?” The confusion she feels about Kara's still injured state, and her regret for lashing out with such viciousness, make Lena's words sharper than she would like, and she forces herself to soften them slightly as she continues. “I mean, I saw the news about you...Supergirl, defusing that protest, last week?”

****

“You know the time you came over to my apartment with soup because I was sick, when you told me how you kissed James for the first time?” 

****

Frowning down at the top of Kara's head, Lena queries. “I fail to see how that has relevance?”

****

A small, fleeting, wry smile touches the corners of Kara's lips for a brief second, before disappearing again.“J'onn made me pull shopping trolleys from the harbour for a month to make up for the trauma that conversation put him through”.

****

“J'onn? What does he have to do with......?” As the penny drops, the rest of Lena's question dies on her tongue. “He shape-shifted into you?”

****

“He's had to portray Supergirl a couple of times to protect my identity”. Glancing up to briefly lock eyes with the standing woman, Kara nods sadly. “Once when Cat figured it out and said I had to come clean or she'd fire me, and a couple of times when I'd lost my powers. You were the only one that scarred him quite so thoroughly though”. 

****

Pulled in enough by the new information to sit on the seat next Kara, Lena studies the meek woman. “So that was J'onn on the news? Quelling that protest?”

****

Having to look in the opposite direction to Lena as she is unable to handle looking at the woman who still owns her heart so close and keep a grip on her composure, Kara speaks quietly. “The city was getting antsy after not having seen anything of Supergirl in a while. Alex thought it the best way to settle everyone down, especially as....”

****

When she abruptly cuts herself off and swallows heavily, Lena's interest in piqued and she pushes the reticent woman. “Especially as what?”

Blowing out a deep breath, Kara closes her eyes as she wishes that this conversation wasn't happening in the middle of a public park. However, as she had made a vow to answer every single one of Lena's questions with full honesty from here on out, so knows that she has no choice but to tell the truth. 

****

Wrapping her good arm around her waist and hugging tight, Kara grits her teeth as she forces the words out. “Especially as we have no idea how long it will take for my powers to come back, if they will at all”.  

****

“ **_What_ ** ?” Stunned by Kara's choked confession, Lena stares at the side of the blonde's ashen face in shocked confusion. “Why wouldn't they come back?”

****

Shrugging her shoulders awkwardly, Kara swipes away the stray tear that manages to escape the watery prison she is desperately trying to keep them in. “This is the longest I've ever gone after recharging without returning to my normal state. All my cells are fully charged with sunlight, so there is nothing physically stopping me. The docs think it's either something psychological, or whatever Lex did changed me so I  _ can't.  _ Whatever the reason, I'm currently as human as the next person so no, I'm not wearing this cast for your sympathy, Lena”. 

****

“I....I'm sorry, Kara”. 

****

Reaching out to lay a comforting hand on her knee, Lena stops with it hovering in mid air when she sees Kara draw away from the incoming appendage. 

****

“It's what I deserve”. Voice dripping with self loathing, Kara draws herself to the edge of the bench furthest away from Lena. “I hurt you, so it's only fair that I hurt in return. I hope it brings you a modicum of peace to know that not even The Girl of Steel is immune to Karma”. 

****

“No it doesn't, not like this”. Shaking her head in disbelief, Lena can't quite comprehend the change in the once vibrant woman. 

****

It is as if the spark that has drawn her so inexorably to the delightfully bubbly and cheerful woman has been snuffed out, trampled under heel by a careless intruder ransacking the sacred temple of her heart, and with a start Lena realises that  _ she _ is that careless fool. 

****

When Alex had stormed into her office and berated her for leaving the hospital she'd tried to explain how devastated Kara had been, but Lena hadn't wanted to listen. She'd been too angry at the time, believing that the pair of them had just been trying to manipulate her into forgiving all the lies by using her own feelings against her. 

****

She'd thought that by saying Kara had feelings for her they were trying to get her to forgive everything, as they knew she was so desperate for the blonde's affections she'd overlook their deceit, and in the moment of actually hearing the longed for words Lena had been so terrified that it HAD been a trick that she'd found herself storming out before even seeing the sincerity in Kara's eyes. 

****

Yet now, she remembers how Alex had screamed at her that she'd destroyed Kara a thousand times worse that when Mon El had left, and she can  **vividly** recall the way Kara had told her that Mon El's leaving had broken her into a million pieces. 

****

Gaping like a fish as she tries to wrap her mind around the fact that Kara had been devastated by Mon El's leaving because she'd loved him, which translates to mean she is devastated by this because she does in truth love  **_her_ ** , Lena finds herself suffused with guilt at walking out on the heartfelt confession that she had believed to be yet another lie. 

****

However, before she can properly process the way her heart starts to thump wildly in her chest, a shadow falls across Lena and she looks up to find as a heavy set man standing in front of her, grinning smugly down at her. “Well, well, well. It seems it's my lucky day”. 

****

Seeing Kara shrink even further into herself, so at odds to her normal persona, has Lena glaring up at the man immediately. “We're in the middle of a private conversation. Go away”.  

****

“Oh, I think not Miss. Luthor”. The smug smile twists into a sneer as a gun appears in the man's hand, hidden from view of the public underneath the newspaper he has draped over his forearm, and his voice takes on a menacing edge. “You're coming with me”. 

****

 *****

****

“You need to run”. 

****

Panic racing through her veins and causing her heart to beat triple time, Lena feels proud that, despite the fear she feels at the thought of Kara being hurt because of the goon manhandling them along the alleyway, her voice comes out steady.

****

“I'm not leaving you, Lena. Ever”. 

****

The way she says it, not just with conviction but with the core of steel that the raven haired woman is used to hearing from the caped hero, has Lena's eyes swinging to look at the blonde in surprise. 

****

Seeing a fire in the baby blues that had been missing the last time she'd looked into them, Lena can't help the little skip her heart does at the sight. All that passion and intensity reminds her of why she fell for the earnest reporter in the first place, and she has to drag her eyes away in order to focus on the task at hand. 

****

“Kara, while I appreciate the sentiment, you're injured and without powers so you can't do anything to help. You need to get to safety and raise the alarm”. Shaking her head at the argument she knows is about to come when she sees the stubborn blonde open her mouth, Lena continues. “He only wanted me, but brought you because you happened to be with me, so the likelihood of him abandoning me to chase you is pretty slim. When we get to wherever his vehicle is, I will create a distraction in order to give you the chance to run away”. 

****

“I can't leave you to get kidnapped!” 

****

“It's not the first time, nor, I'm sure, will it be the last”. Trying to ignore the distress coming off Kara in waves with wry humour, Lena carries on as if she doesn't notice the pleading puppy dog eyes staring at her. “You owe me this Kara, you know you do, so do as I say and run when I tell you to. You hear me?” 

****

Swallowing heavily at the truth to Lena's statement, Kara nods reluctantly. “Okay. I'll run”. 

****

Relief at her acquiescence floods through Lena, and the knowledge that Kara will be safe eases the terror that has been pulsing through her since the oaf pointing the gun at them and refused her plea to leave the injured woman behind. 

****

“This is far enough. Stop here”. 

****

The gruff command from behind pulls the pair from their scheming, and they stumble to a halt three quarters of the way down the squalid alley. 

****

Turning to face him, Lena angles her body so that it is between Kara and the gunman. “Where's your car?”

****

“What?” Frowning at her in confusion, his heavy brows practically touch over his nose. 

****

“Your vehicle”. Gesturing about the empty alley, Lena maintains a relaxed air that is at odds with the squirming dread tying her stomach into knots. “Or are you planning on kidnapping me via the sewers?” 

****

Kidnapping?” The sharp bark of laughter that her words cause have the knots in her belly turning to lead stones, and Lena quickly feels all hope of creating a diversion that will get Kara to safety disappearing like a puff of smoke. “I don't want a ransom from your family. I simply want revenge”. 

****

“She has nothing to do with her family!” 

****

Hearing the melodic yet powerful voice suddenly pipe up from behind her has Lena's nerves fraying even further, and she spins on her heel to face the blonde.“Kara, don't provoke him”. 

****

The pleading eyes she has levelled on the blonde are wasted as the unpowered superhero is glaring over the CEO's shoulder, hard enough that he'd be six feet under if her heat vision was functional, and Lena has to reach out to place a hand on the angry woman's cheek before she pulls her gaze away. The gentle touch snaps Kara's attention back instantly, surprise at the move clear in her bright blue eyes, and she searches Lena's eyes for an explanation. 

****

“Do you remember your promise?” Dropping her voice low, Lena captures the reporters full attention with the intensity she finds staring out of the beautiful verdant orbs she has so missed being able to gaze into. “Because I need you to be ready to run”. 

****

“Run to where?”

****

“That's enough”. The command has Lena turning back to the impatient man quickly, not wanting him to get trigger happy before she has a plan figured out. 

****

Ensuring that Kara remains behind her and out of direct line of sight, Lena lifts her jaw defiantly as she stares at the man glaring daggers at her. “Do I at least get to know what vile thing my family did to have earned such blow back on me?”

****

“When your brother staged his little escape, he did so at the expense of twelve officers lives. One of those officers was my _wife-_ ” previously snarling his words, the man suddenly has tears in his eyes as his voice trembles  “-who was ten weeks pregnant _”._

****

Feeling sick to her stomach at the thought of how much pain her brother has put out into the world, Lena knows she will live the rest of her life caught in the blast radius of destruction the Luthor name has sown onto innocent victims. 

****

“I'm incredibly sorry for your loss”. Swallowing down the self pity, knowing that she can wallow in it later (if she lives) Lena lowers her chin slightly and offers him a sincere look. “My brother has done some truly despicable things; I should know because he's forced me to watch some of them, but becoming just like him is not the way to win”. 

****

Taking a half step forward, slowly, Lena hears the way Kara calls her name in fear that she might be provoking the unstable man pointing the high calibre weapon straight at her, but she does it anyway. 

****

“If I've learned anything these past few years, its that giving in to anger is never the right choice, and that darkening our own soul while trying to get back at someone who has already lost theirs is an endeavour we will  _ always _ lose”. 

****

Seeing that her words are starting to have an effect; his arm begins to waver and lowers slightly, Lena takes another cautious half step forward. 

****

“There's a reason Lex hates Kryptonian's so much, and it's not the one he always spouts about them being menaces that could enslave the world if they decide to turn evil”. 

****

The gun lowers further and Lena takes another step forward. 

****

“In fact, it's the complete opposite -” the gun is pointing down towards her knee now, and Lena inches closer “-it's because he knows they're completely pure of heart. The kind of pure that can never be tainted, not even if they have to lie to their best friend for years in order to protect themselves, and it drove Lex insanely jealous that he could never be like that”.  

****

Hearing a small gasp from behind her, Lena has to will herself not to turn and look at Kara. If this was to be her last moments then she wanted to make sure she didn't leave this world without making damn sure Kara knew that she forgave her, and she is glad that the gorgeous blonde understood her meaning. 

****

Lena is less than two arms lengths away from the guy now, and she knows that if she can get within one then she can take the gun from him without trouble. Just when she starts to think she may stand a chance of coming out of this unscathed she sees a wave of resolve wash over the gunman's face, and knows that her time has come screeching to a halt. 

****

“Kara, RUN. NOW!!” 

****

As she is about to launch herself towards him, in order to provide the biggest possible target and block any chance he might have of aiming at Kara, Lena sees a blur of blonde hair in her peripheral vision a millisecond before she feels a solid shape collide with her left side and knock her to the ground.

****

Hitting the floor with a solid thump, Lena whips her head up as the sound of a gunshot ricochets throughout the alley, then feels her blood run cold when both Kara and the gunman collapse. 

****

Scrambling to her feet, Lena runs as fast as she can over to the downed pair, and then drops to her knees beside them. “Kara? Kara, please tell me you're okay!” 

****

“I'm okay, Lena. I'm fine”. 

****

Mouth dropping open in slack jawed surprise, Lena can only stare agog as she realises that Kara, far from collapsing with the gunman, has actually broken out of her cast and is now hunched over the man's body, pressing her hand over the wound in his shoulder. 

****

“What.....? What happened?” 

****

As she locks eyes with the stunned woman, Kara's bright blues seem to sparkle more vibrantly than ever. “The second he raised that gun I knew I had to rescue you, whether I had my powers or not, so I did as you told me to; I ran”. 

****

“Away. I told you to run away!”

****

Wrinkling her nose as she shrugs her shoulders nonchalantly, Kara gives Lena a small smile. “I've never be that great with complex directions, just ask Alex”. 

****

“Kara!” Huffing in exasperation, a thought then pops into Lena's head. “Wait, you didn't have your powers when you bumped me, did you?”

****

Shaking her head, Kara's hair falls in waves around her face as she speaks. “No. I never would have risked doing something like that if I had. The slightest miscalculation could have badly injured you, and I wasn't thinking clearly enough to have made those kind of judgements”. 

****

“Then when....?” Gesturing at the clearly healed arm she is currently using to stop the unconscious guy from bleeding out, Lena indicates for Kara to explain when she got her powers back. 

****

“Oh”. Flushing slightly, the Super looks away with a rather sheepish expression on her face. “They kicked in just before the bullet hit my chest. I was so surprised that I forgot to react and catch it, so it ended up recoiling off me and hitting him in the shoulder”. 

****

“You.....you could have died!” Going pale at the words  _ just before it hit my chest,  _ Lena can't wrap her head around the fact that Kara just threw herself in front of a bullet, while fully mortal, for  **her** . “That bullet would have killed you, Kara!”

****

Lifting her eyes back up to lock with Lena's, the Superhero allows a soft smile to spread across her face. “This world can survive without Supergirl, but it can't afford to lose Lena Luthor. She is too good, and too smart for such a thing to be allowed to happen. To lose her would have been a real tragedy, and frankly I wasn't willing to live in a world that didn't have her in it so......” 

****

The rest of Kara's explanation is cut off when Lena leans across the unconscious body separating them and presses her lips to the ones currently sending her heart into meltdown. 

****

When Lena pulls back, Kara looks at her with stunned, but happy eyes. “So......I'm forgiven?”

****

“Oh darling, you were just willing to die for me-” chuckling as she strokes a hand softly over Kara's cheek, Lena smiles happily as the way the blonde reporter leans into the caress “-you're forgiven for things you haven't even done yet”. 

****

Joining their lips again, this time in a deeper, more passionate kiss, the pair find themselves panting for breath when they pull away. 

****

“Wow. That was....just...wow!” Grinning goofily, Kara is delighted to see that Lena is just as affected by the kiss as she is, if her dilated pupils and racing heartbeat are any indication. 

****

“You have quite the way with words Miss. Danvers”. Smirking wolfishly, Lena has to fight down the urge to kiss the beautiful woman for a third time. 

****

“Well, I am a reporter. Words are kinda my thing”. Bantering back, Kara winks cheekily. “But er, do you think you can do me a quick favour?” 

****

“What do you need?” Instantly worried that something is wrong, Lena's body goes on high alert. 

****

“Do you think you can call an ambulance so we can get this guy to the hospital? I would normally fly him there but I don't have my suit with me, and I don't have my clearance at the DEO back yet so sneaking in there isn't an option either”. 

****

Feeling slightly foolish for having not thought of it, and having just made out over him as if he wasn't there, Lena flushes in embarrassment. “Oh, yes. Of course”.

****

“Good, because I've kinda had my eye on this gorgeous woman for a while now, and I was thinking of asking her out on a date later this evening”. Eyes twinkling with humour, Kara distracts Lena from her thoughts with a playful smile. “However, I don't want to show up with blood all over my hands. I think that might be a bit of a buzzkill for a first date”. 

****

“Hmm, maybe a little”. Playing along, Lena has to fight down the wide smile wanting to erupt across her face at the thought of going on a date with Kara. “Although I think this woman might overlook that minor detail for you”. 

****

“Oh, might she?”

****

Unable to hold back her grin any longer, Lena pulls out her phone as she rises to her feet. Looking back over her shoulder, she sees Kara staring up at her expectantly. “Ask me and find out”. 

**Author's Note:**

> So, yet again I have been distracted by a post reveal angst ridden one shot. 
> 
> Let me know if you think it was worth it, huh?


End file.
